Stream these 10 movies and TV episodes about North Korea

Who knew a Seth Rogen comedy could have so much blow back? After yesterday's announcement that Sony would be pulling The Interview's Christmas release, following an embarrassing hack attack and threats to American movie theaters, a handful of cinemas planned to instead program the 2004 political satire with puppets Team America: World Police, which casts former North Korean dictator Kim Jong-il as its villain. Just when it seemed like things couldn't get any more insane on this issue, Paramount Pictures has yanked those screenings. While the studios seem determined to keep North Korea-inspired entertainment out of the theaters this holiday season, Hollywood's new-found fear of North Korea hasn't extended to the Internet's various streaming libraries yet. If you're frustrated by your film-going decisions being made for you, there are several on demand options that aren't afraid to make North Korea the bad guy.

Team America: World Police (streaming on Netflix) We're not sure why The Interview is getting so much flack when this film has existed in the world for the last decade. Is it because Kim Jong-il is played by a jerky and jowly marionette, rather than a flesh and blood human? Because he sings a sad and poignant song about being "so ronery"? Or is Kim Jong-un's ego more fragile than dear old dad's?

30 Rock: Everything Sunny All theTime(streaming on Netflix) The penultimate episode of season five of the NBC comedy saw Jack Donaghy's baby mama Avery Jessup kidnapped by Kim Jong-il (played to perfection by Margaret Cho) where she becomes the face of anti-American propaganda and is forced to marry the dictator.

The VICE Guide to North Korea (streaming on vice.com) The VICE was permitted access to North Korea as tourists—not journalists—but that didn't stop them from creating this three-part series detailing what they found there.

Red Dawn (streaming on Amazon Prime and Netflix) It was only a few short years ago that this re-make of the 1980s Patrick Swayze film was edited during post-production to substitute North Korea for China as the villain, so that the film could still be distributed in China.

Olympus Has Fallen (streaming on Netflix) Just last year this White House siege film cast Gerard Butler as a Secret Service agent protecting the President from a group of North Korean terrorists.

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia: The Gang Solves the North Korea Situation (streaming on Amazon Prime and Netflix) In this season three episode, the Sunny group goes toe-to-toe with the owner of a North Korean pub—who bears a striking resemblance to Kim Jong-il—that is threatening to bump Paddy's from the city's annual pub crawl.

MASH (streaming on Amazon Prime and Netflix) Before the TV series, Robert Altman's film satirized the Korean War with a cast that includes Donald Sutherland, Elliott Gould and Robert Duvall.

Die Another Day (available to purchase on Amazon) We can't recommend that you watch this atrocious Bond film—especially since it's only available for purchase and it's not worth the $10 asking price—but it does find Pierce Brosnan's 007 getting captured and tortured in North Korea, before being released via a prisoner exchange.

Salt (available rent and purchase on Amazon) It's not as painfully awful as Die Another Day, but it does borrow the exact same setup from it as Angelina Jolie's CIA officer is captured and tortured in North Korea only to be released via, you guessed it, a prisoner exchange.

Stealth (available for purchase on Amazon) This goofy action film focuses on fighter pilots flying a top secret stealth jet whose artificial intelligence becomes an issue and one of the pilots, played by Jessica Biel, ends up ejecting over North Korea, where she is captured.

Jessica is the senior online producer for Time Out Chicago. Her friends consider her a useful flesh and blood substitute for IMDB when their cell service is wonky. Follow her on Twitter at @witchyflickchic.

Comments

There is also a powerful documentary on Netflix called Camp 14: Total Control Zone about a young man who escaped a re-education facility in North Korea and tells the horrific stories that happened there.